India, Singapore to review trade pacts

Singapore, a major financial hub and gateway to South-East Asia, has emerged as India's top trading partner

- Dhirendra Kumar

India and Singapore have decided to fast-track the review of their Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) and Asean Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) in a time-bound manner to accelerate bilateral trade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday while addressing a joint press conference with his Singapore counterpart Lawrence Wong.

The decision to give bilateral commerce a fillip comes at a time when global trade flows are being reshaped by the new tariff regime under US President Donald Trump. India, which has been slapped with one of the world's highest tariffs of 50% by Washington, is seeking to diversify its markets and strengthen regional economic partnerships to offset the impact. The country has identified 50 markets for the diversification.